US4916271A - Resistance welding head - Google Patents
Resistance welding head Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US4916271A US4916271A US07/269,966 US26996688A US4916271A US 4916271 A US4916271 A US 4916271A US 26996688 A US26996688 A US 26996688A US 4916271 A US4916271 A US 4916271A
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- shaft
- contact
- contact plate
- welding head
- housing
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Fee Related
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Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
- B23K11/00—Resistance welding; Severing by resistance heating
- B23K11/30—Features relating to electrodes
- B23K11/3036—Roller electrodes
- B23K11/3045—Cooled roller electrodes
Definitions
- This invention relates generally to welding apparatus and, in particular, to a welding head assembly for resistance welding having a rotating, electrically conductive shaft wherein electrical current is coupled into the shaft through a flat, relatively large area shaft end.
- Resistance seam welding is widely used for joining metallic members.
- resistance seam welding is utilized in welding gas turbine engine recuperators.
- a typical recuperator may have several thousand feet of resistance welded seams.
- One problem which affects the quality of the overall weld is related to sporadic increases in electrical resistance at the curved rotating electrical contact surfaces inside one or both of the welding heads of the welding machine. Such sporadic increases in electrical resistance have been attributed to poor mating surface contact related to machining errors. That is, the machining of the curved electrical contact surfaces to the dimensions required for intimate contact between the curved electrical contact surfaces is difficult to achieve. Sporadic increases in electrical resistance have also been attributed to nonuniform wear of the electrical contact surfaces during the welding operation itself.
- a welding head constructed and operated in accordance with the invention wherein the welding head comprises a rotating, electrically conductive shaft wherein electrical current is coupled into the shaft through a flat, relatively large area shaft end.
- a welding head for coupling a wheel welding electrode to a source of electrical current.
- the welding head includes a housing and an electrically conductive shaft rotatably mounted within the housing, the shaft having a substantially circular cylindrical shape having a first end surface for mounting a welding electrode thereto and a second, substantially flat, end surface.
- the welding head also includes means coupled to the second substantially flat end surface of the shaft for coupling electrical current into the shaft.
- the invention further provides means for lubricating the rotating electrical contact surface and means for cooling the end plate contacting the second end surface of the shaft.
- the coupling means includes an electrical conductor having a first end coupled to a source of welding power and an electrically conductive contact plate having a substantially flat surface in contact with the second substantially flat end surface of the shaft.
- the contact plate is electrically coupled to a second end of the electrical conductor.
- the shaft rotates against the plate upon the second end surface while in another embodiment of the invention the contact plate is rigidly coupled to the shaft end to completely eliminate a sporadic increase in electrical resistance within the welding head.
- Welding heads have been constructed with flat rotating electrical contact surfaces and without rotating electrical contact surfaces in accordance with the teaching of this invention. Welds made using these welding heads have shown more consistent quality than those made using the welding heads with curved rotating electrical contact surfaces. Further, maintenance of these welding head has been found to be significantly more simple and less time consuming than that of conventional welding heads having curved rotating electrical contact surfaces.
- FIG. 1 is a side cut away view of a welding head constructed in accordance with the teaching of the invention.
- FIG. 2 is an end view of the welding head of FIG. 1.
- FIG. 3 is a side cut away view of another embodiment of a welding head constructed in accordance with the teaching of the invention.
- FIG. 4 is an end view of the welding head of FIG. 3.
- Welding head 10 comprises a circular welding electrode wheel 12 having a machined surface 14 which has a shape which is predetermined for intimately contacting one of two plates of a workpiece (not shown).
- Electrode wheel 12 is comprised of an electrically conductive material, such as copper.
- Electrode wheel 12 is provided with a centrally disposed opening for receiving a bolt 16 for affixing the wheel 12 to a substantially circular cylindrical shaft 18.
- Shaft 18 is also comprised of an electrically conductive material, such as copper. Electrical current is supplied to the workpiece through the electrode wheel 12 via the shaft 18.
- the shaft 18 has a substantially flat contact surface 20 which is disposed at an end opposite the end to which electrode wheel 12 is affixed.
- Contact surface 20 is in intimate physical and electrical contact with a static contact plate 22.
- Static contact plate 22 is typically comprised of copper although it may comprise silver or any suitable electrically conductive material.
- Electrical current is supplied to static contact plate 22 by means of a conductor 24, the conductor 24 having a terminal end attached to a coupler 26 by means of a bolt 28.
- the opposite end of conductor 24 is coupled to an electrical source (not shown) which is operable for providing an electrical current having a magnitude sufficient for welding the workpiece.
- a return path to the electrical source is provided through a mating welding head (not shown).
- the two welding heads are identical in configuration and materials.
- An electrode wheel 12 is affixed to both welding heads.
- the heat generated by the passage of the current from the electrode wheel 12 of one welding head into the workpiece provides for the welding of the workpiece.
- the electrical current is passed from the electrode wheel 12 to the workpiece and then to the electrode heel 12 of the mating welding head.
- Contact surface 20 or the contact surface opposite it is provided with grooves or channels for flowing a lubrication medium for lubricating these electrical contact surfaces.
- An input coupler 38 and an output orifice 39 are provided for supplying the lubrication medium to these electrical contact surfaces.
- the shaft 18 is rotatably mounted within a housing 30 by means of a plurality of ball bearings 32 which are provided in a first bearing housing 34 and a second bearing housing 36.
- Contact plate 22 is fixed to the housing 30 by means of a plurality of bolts 40.
- the housing 30 is preferably comprised of copper while the bearings 32 and bolts 40 are comprised of steel.
- a means for controllably adjusting the contact pressure between the shaft 18 and the contact plate 22 at the contact surface 20 is, in the illustrated embodiment, comprised of compression springs 42 having spring tension adjusting bolts 44 attached thereto.
- the spring tension adjusting mechanism provides for adjusting the contact pressure to accommodate wear upon the contact surface and also to readjust the contact pressure when the contact surface 20 is remachined in order to remove points of wear.
- Typical dimensions for the apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are a housing 30 height of approximately 3.5 inches, a width of approximately 3 inches and a depth of approximately 2.5 inches.
- the diameter of the welding wheel 12 is approximately 3.5 inches.
- the maximum diameter of the shaft 18 is approximately 1.5 inch.
- the invention incorporates the internal cooling of the contact plate 22 by providing optional cooling flow inlet and outlet fittings 46 and 48, respectively.
- the housing 30 is preferably rigidly mounted and the electrode wheel 12 is rotated by the movement of the workpiece, the workpiece typically being provided on a turntable or some other suitable means for translating the workpiece.
- This rotation of the electrode wheel 12 is coupled to shaft 18 which in turn rotates against the static contact plate 22 across the flat contact surface 20.
- Current is coupled into the shaft 18 through this relatively large and low resistance contact area, thereby achieving a significant reduction in the occurrence of defective seam welds due to sporadic increases in electrical resistance within the welding head 10.
- the welding head 10 of the invention substantially reduces the occurrence of sporadic increases of electrical resistance within the welding head because it includes no tangentially rotating or spring loaded electrical contact surfaces, such as brushes.
- the electrical contact surfaces, such as the contact surface 20 are large flat surfaces which are in intimate electrical and physical contact one with the other. In addition, such flat contact surfaces are relatively easy to machine and to maintain.
- Electrode wheel 62 is comprised of an electrically conductive material, such as copper. Electrode wheel 62 is provided with a centrally disposed opening for receiving a bolt 66 for affixing the wheel 62 to a substantially circular cylindrical shaft 68.
- Shaft 68 is also comprised of an electrically conductive material, such as copper. Electrical current is supplied to the workpiece through the electrode wheel 62 via the shaft 68. In order to couple electrical current into the shaft 68, the shaft 68 has a flat contact surface 70 which is disposed at an end opposite the end to which electrode wheel 62 is affixed. Contact surface 70 is in intimate physical and electrical contact with an electrical coupler 72. Electrical current is supplied to coupler 72 by means of a flexible conductor 74, the conductor 74 having a terminal end attached to the end 70 of shaft 68 by means of a bolt 76. The opposite end of conductor 74 is coupled to an electrical source (not shown) which is operable for providing an electrical current having a magnitude sufficient for welding the workpiece.
- an electrical source not shown
- a return path to the electrical source is provided through the mating welding head.
- the two welding heads are identical in configuration and materials.
- An electrode wheel 62 is affixed to both welding heads. The heat generated by the passage of the current from the electrode wheel 62 of the welding heads into the workpiece provides for the welding of the workpiece.
- the electrical current is passed from the electrode wheel 62 to the workpiece and then to the electrode wheel 62 of the mating welding head.
- the shaft 68 is rotatably mounted within a housing 78 by means of a plurality of ball bearings 80 which are typically provided within bearing housings (not shown).
- the shaft 68 has a centrally disposed portion which has a larger diameter than the two terminal ends of the shaft 68, thereby forming two shoulder regions 82 and 84.
- An end plate 88 is removably coupled to housing 78 by a plurality of bolts 90. Plate 88 has a centrally disposed opening 92 through which the rotating shaft 68 passes.
- the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 completely eliminates any moving electrical contact surface in that the flexible conductor 74 is coupled directly to the shaft 68 via the coupler 72. This eliminates the undesirable sporadic increases in electrical resistance associated with a welding head with rotating electrical contact surfaces.
- the electrode wheel 62 in a first direction, such as clockwise, for welding a first seam, and then to weld a second seam in the opposite direction in order to prevent excessive twisting of the conductor 74.
- the electrode wheel 12 of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 may be rotated in one direction indefinitely in that electrical contact is made through the rotating flat surface region defined by contact surface 20 and contact plate 22.
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Resistance Welding (AREA)
Abstract
Description
Claims (10)
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US07/269,966 US4916271A (en) | 1988-11-10 | 1988-11-10 | Resistance welding head |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US07/269,966 US4916271A (en) | 1988-11-10 | 1988-11-10 | Resistance welding head |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US4916271A true US4916271A (en) | 1990-04-10 |
Family
ID=23029338
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US07/269,966 Expired - Fee Related US4916271A (en) | 1988-11-10 | 1988-11-10 | Resistance welding head |
Country Status (1)
Country | Link |
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US (1) | US4916271A (en) |
Cited By (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5115111A (en) * | 1990-08-06 | 1992-05-19 | Hughes Aircraft Company | Dual tip rotating welding electrode |
US5488215A (en) * | 1991-10-21 | 1996-01-30 | Rotech Tooling | Swivel connection |
CN110560863A (en) * | 2019-08-22 | 2019-12-13 | 武汉凯奇冶金焊接设备制造有限责任公司 | Welding wheel assembly device for strip steel on-line narrow lap joint seam welding machine |
Citations (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US1196852A (en) * | 1916-01-20 | 1916-09-05 | Edward Fulda | Rocking electrode. |
US2280111A (en) * | 1939-06-30 | 1942-04-21 | American Can Co | Electric welding |
US2407676A (en) * | 1944-01-03 | 1946-09-17 | Alexander L Munson | Welding mechanism |
US2614146A (en) * | 1951-09-19 | 1952-10-14 | Taylor Winfield Corp | Seam welder head |
US4091255A (en) * | 1975-03-25 | 1978-05-23 | Sanki Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Electrodes in welding machines |
-
1988
- 1988-11-10 US US07/269,966 patent/US4916271A/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Patent Citations (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US1196852A (en) * | 1916-01-20 | 1916-09-05 | Edward Fulda | Rocking electrode. |
US2280111A (en) * | 1939-06-30 | 1942-04-21 | American Can Co | Electric welding |
US2407676A (en) * | 1944-01-03 | 1946-09-17 | Alexander L Munson | Welding mechanism |
US2614146A (en) * | 1951-09-19 | 1952-10-14 | Taylor Winfield Corp | Seam welder head |
US4091255A (en) * | 1975-03-25 | 1978-05-23 | Sanki Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Electrodes in welding machines |
Cited By (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5115111A (en) * | 1990-08-06 | 1992-05-19 | Hughes Aircraft Company | Dual tip rotating welding electrode |
US5488215A (en) * | 1991-10-21 | 1996-01-30 | Rotech Tooling | Swivel connection |
CN110560863A (en) * | 2019-08-22 | 2019-12-13 | 武汉凯奇冶金焊接设备制造有限责任公司 | Welding wheel assembly device for strip steel on-line narrow lap joint seam welding machine |
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Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: AVCO CORPORATION, 40 WESTMINSTER STREET, PROVIDENC Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST.;ASSIGNORS:LEE, JACK W.;KOWALSKI, ROMAN T.;FRITZ, JOHN L.;REEL/FRAME:004973/0453;SIGNING DATES FROM 19881103 TO 19881104 Owner name: AVCO CORPORATION, RHODE ISLAND Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:LEE, JACK W.;KOWALSKI, ROMAN T.;FRITZ, JOHN L.;SIGNING DATES FROM 19881103 TO 19881104;REEL/FRAME:004973/0453 |
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Free format text: PAYOR NUMBER ASSIGNED (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: ASPN); ENTITY STATUS OF PATENT OWNER: LARGE ENTITY |
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Year of fee payment: 4 |
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AS | Assignment |
Owner name: ALLIEDSIGNAL INC., NEW JERSEY Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:AVCO CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:007183/0633 Effective date: 19941028 |
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Free format text: PAYOR NUMBER ASSIGNED (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: ASPN); ENTITY STATUS OF PATENT OWNER: LARGE ENTITY Free format text: PAYER NUMBER DE-ASSIGNED (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: RMPN); ENTITY STATUS OF PATENT OWNER: LARGE ENTITY |
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FPAY | Fee payment |
Year of fee payment: 8 |
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REMI | Maintenance fee reminder mailed | ||
LAPS | Lapse for failure to pay maintenance fees | ||
STCH | Information on status: patent discontinuation |
Free format text: PATENT EXPIRED DUE TO NONPAYMENT OF MAINTENANCE FEES UNDER 37 CFR 1.362 |
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FP | Lapsed due to failure to pay maintenance fee |
Effective date: 20020410 |